Based on this reading I think that you could easily compare a waitress to a college student as well as reflect and say that “simple” yet not so “simple” jobs such as being a waiter/waitress in a restaurant can definitely help someone gain abilities for a future career as well as life. The author Mike Rose says “on the face of it, a restaurant is a structured environment” and then goes on to say it “becomes more complex, with an unpredictable quality to it”. I found this interesting because I was able to compare this to Bloomsburg University. Like a restaurant, BloomU seems like a structured environment but when you break it down it becomes a whole world inside itself. There are students learning vast new things, doing research projects, as well shaping their future lives. All these things get integrated and overlooked by society and then Bloomsburg University is just a “college”. Rose goes on to say that a waitress “will be punctuated by the continual but irregular demands made of her”. I feel this can be easily related to a college student because even though professors demand a lot from students with the extensive workload and high expectations we prevail and thats what prepares us to be successful in the real world. Near the end Rose states “I’m struck by the fact that particular kinds of work can be defined and perceived in ways that mask the range of human abilities that make the work possible.” I personally think this is trying to say that human abilities gained from job experience are often overlooked by the general population. People think being a waitress only helps you learn "how to be a waitress" while actually there’s a magnitude of abilities that are learned that can help with other jobs as well as life. For example, a waitress learns to take on stress and still be able to get a task done. This ability fits with waitressing but could also be exposed when working in a hospital emergency room. In reality, I think jobs are often overlooked when labeled as “basic” but those “simple" jobs can be where someone learns skills and abilities to help them with life and any career they may pursue in the future.
My Freshman Year (Nathan)
After this reading I feel the word “community” is misinterpreted by people. In this reading Dr. Nathan says “It was the small, ego centered groups that were the backbone of most students’ social experience in the university”. I completely agree with this statement because in college there are many people but the majority of students only really hangout with a small group of friends. For example, on Bloomsburg Universities campus there are approximately 10,000 students and the largest “group” I’ve seen together has maybe been about 6. I think this happens because you see people more frequently if they are in or closely related to your major. Also, while reading I came across a paragraph on page 65 that I don’t agree with. On this page Dr. Nathan analyzed an African American women’s preferable location to eat and was intrigued that she left the dining hall to eat in her own dorm. She went on to say that she was witnessing the effect of a “white space” and that "this may have explained some of the missing 40 percent of minority students in the dining areas.” I completely disagree with Dr. Nathans assumption of a “white space” being the reason for the missing 40%. First, I don’t think she observed that particular space long enough to make that assumption. Also, from what I’ve noticed at BloomU the majority of racism has disappeared completely. I suppose it must depend on the particular university and time period but; I feel although there is still racism on college campuses, there is too much diversity support amongst students and faculty at these campuses to assume something as a “white space”.
Based on this reading I think that you could easily compare a waitress to a college student as well as reflect and say that “simple” yet not so “simple” jobs such as being a waiter/waitress in a restaurant can definitely help someone gain abilities for a future career as well as life. The author Mike Rose says “on the face of it, a restaurant is a structured environment” and then goes on to say it “becomes more complex, with an unpredictable quality to it”. I found this interesting because I was able to compare this to Bloomsburg University. Like a restaurant, BloomU seems like a structured environment but when you break it down it becomes a whole world inside itself. There are students learning vast new things, doing research projects, as well shaping their future lives. All these things get integrated and overlooked by society and then Bloomsburg University is just a “college”. Rose goes on to say that a waitress “will be punctuated by the continual but irregular demands made of her”. I feel this can be easily related to a college student because even though professors demand a lot from students with the extensive workload and high expectations we prevail and thats what prepares us to be successful in the real world. Near the end Rose states “I’m struck by the fact that particular kinds of work can be defined and perceived in ways that mask the range of human abilities that make the work possible.” I personally think this is trying to say that human abilities gained from job experience are often overlooked by the general population. People think being a waitress only helps you learn "how to be a waitress" while actually there’s a magnitude of abilities that are learned that can help with other jobs as well as life. For example, a waitress learns to take on stress and still be able to get a task done. This ability fits with waitressing but could also be exposed when working in a hospital emergency room. In reality, I think jobs are often overlooked when labeled as “basic” but those “simple" jobs can be where someone learns skills and abilities to help them with life and any career they may pursue in the future.
My Freshman Year (Nathan)
After this reading I feel the word “community” is misinterpreted by people. In this reading Dr. Nathan says “It was the small, ego centered groups that were the backbone of most students’ social experience in the university”. I completely agree with this statement because in college there are many people but the majority of students only really hangout with a small group of friends. For example, on Bloomsburg Universities campus there are approximately 10,000 students and the largest “group” I’ve seen together has maybe been about 6. I think this happens because you see people more frequently if they are in or closely related to your major. Also, while reading I came across a paragraph on page 65 that I don’t agree with. On this page Dr. Nathan analyzed an African American women’s preferable location to eat and was intrigued that she left the dining hall to eat in her own dorm. She went on to say that she was witnessing the effect of a “white space” and that "this may have explained some of the missing 40 percent of minority students in the dining areas.” I completely disagree with Dr. Nathans assumption of a “white space” being the reason for the missing 40%. First, I don’t think she observed that particular space long enough to make that assumption. Also, from what I’ve noticed at BloomU the majority of racism has disappeared completely. I suppose it must depend on the particular university and time period but; I feel although there is still racism on college campuses, there is too much diversity support amongst students and faculty at these campuses to assume something as a “white space”.